


Rubyquest II: The Island

by AdaptationDecay



Category: Rubyquest
Genre: Body Horror, Canon-Typical Violence, Comedy, F/M, Lovecraftian, Mixed Media, Mutation, Post-Canon, Quest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-14
Updated: 2012-12-14
Packaged: 2017-11-21 03:47:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/593090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdaptationDecay/pseuds/AdaptationDecay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In your inventory, you have two walkie-talkies and an empty champagne bottle. Time to save the world...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rubyquest II: The Island

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Miyuki](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miyuki/gifts).



**You spend the tram ride to shore drinking the champagne you liberated from the breakroom in The Metal Glen and tossing unneeded inventory items into the sea. Eventually you arrive in The Tram Dock.**

"wtf? why would we ditch our inventory?"  
"Do we have anything left at all? Check inventory."

**Your inventory is an empty champagne bottle and a pair of walkie talkies.**

"That's it? Fuck. Okay what's that thing on the wall?

**A pair of lights on the wall indicate whether the tram is in the Tram Dock or at the underwater facility.**

"Boring. Explore the rest of the room."

**You look north...**

"Look at the picture first. Are they playing chess?"

**It's a wall calendar. The people in the picture are buck naked. Ruby blushes and averts her eyes. Tom examines the calendar more closely.**

"Staring at naked girls when Ruby's right there in the room with him? Not cool, Tom."

**Tom was actually looking at the dates, not the photograph. He points out that if Bella was telling the truth about it being Halloween then there's going to be a full solar eclipse this afternoon.**

"Is the door locked?"

**The door to the north is locked. The door to the west is slightly ajar.**

"Go west."  
"No. Check out the desk first."  
"Look out the window!"

**Ruby is starting to get a headache.**

"Okay, fine. Desk. Does it have drawers?"

**The desk does have drawers. One of them is locked. There is a small brass keyplate, but no key. The other drawer is not locked. It contains a pack of post-its bearing the phrase 'The Metal Glen Facility for the Blind.' The word 'Camera' is written on the topmost post-it. There are also a few Twinkies.**

"Take the post-its."  
"Eat the Twinkies."

**Post-its have been added to your inventory. You split the Twinkies between the three of you. Now that you're away from the facility, you're starting to feel genuinely hungry. The Twinkies aren't enough. You're going to need real food soon.**

"Is that a window on the far wall, to the left?"

**The window to the left has venetian blinds. They are currently closed.**

"Let's open the blinds!"  
"yes!" 

****You look through the blinds. You can see a large courtyard enclosed with a chain link fence. There are signs posted on the fence, but you can't read them from here.** **

"Lift the chair, maybe there's a key taped under the seat." 

****The chair is pretty heavy. Ruby lets Tom lift it. He tosses it up and down a few times, trying to impress Ruby. There is nothing taped under it. The chair is unremarkable.** **

"Is the door opposite locked?" 

****The door to the north is indeed locked.** **

"What about the other door?" 

****The door to the west opens and you enter a new room...** **

"A bed! Let the wild sexytiemz ensue!"

**Ruby likes Tom, but she's not going to do anything until she has some privacy.**

"Jay can watch."

**Ruby's not into an audience and neither she nor Tom are comfortable leaving Jay alone until they know they're safe. Maybe you should investigate your surroundings?**

"Look at the picture."

**The picture is of a bunch of twenty-somethings throwing their hats into the air.**

"At the Metal Glen? That seems like a pretty cruel game to play with the blind, dude.

**The caption says 'Miskatonic University - Class of '09'.**

"Look at the coat and bag."

**The hoodie hanging from the peg is dark blue. It looks very warm and cozy.**

"Does it have pockets?"

**Yes. There is an SD card in the pocket of the hoodie.**

"Any identifying information?"

**Just a manufacturer's label saying it stores 16gb.**

"Maybe there's a laptop in the bag?"

**The rucksack does not contain a laptop, but there is a digital camera.**

"Does it take an SD card?"  
"Use SD card in digital camera."

**The card fits the camera. Unfortunately, the battery is missing.**

"Fuck."  
"If you won't let Ruby and Tom crawl into the bed together, can they crawl under it?"

**Ruby's girlish figure lets her easily wriggle under the bed. There are books under the bed.**

"What kind of books?"

**Academic books for the most part. Titles include _The Archaeological Northeast_ , _Early Settlements of the Miskatonic Basin_ and _Word of God: An Examination of Religious Sentiment in the Letters of the Pilgrims_. There is also a trashy book of the True! Life! Mysteries! variety with the title _Unexplained Disappearances_.**

"See if there are names written in them or highlighted passages or something."

**There are post-its in several of the books with handwritten notes on them, but the handwriting is terrible and hard to make out. You think the owner's name might be Benedict Lathers, but it could just as easily be Rene-Alice Feathers. Some people should not be allowed to use cursive.**

"Blathers!"  
"What sections of the books are the post-its in?"

**The post-its are marking an essay on Human influences on the Northeastern Landscape, a chapter on the history of the Atlantic islands at the mouth of the Miskatonic River, a patchy record of some sort of sixteenth century religious flamewar and a sensationalized retelling of the story of the lost colonies at Roanoke and Elyot Island.**

"Can we take the books?"

**Books have been added to your inventory.**

"If we smashed the window in the other room would we be able to climb out?"

**The window is of a reasonable size, yes.**

"Smash! Smash! Smash!"  
"Throw the chair through the goddamn window."  
Vandalism! Whoo!"

**Tom likes throwing chairs around.**

"Use the hoodie to pad the glass on the bottom of the window while we crawl out."

**Ruby uses the hoodie to cover the glass and climbs out the window. It's a bit of a squeeze for Tom, but with Ruby pulling and Jay pushing, they all make it out into the courtyard...**

****

"Are the doors locked?"

**Yes, both doors are locked, but you can exit the courtyard behind the buildings as indicated by the arrows.**

"Can we unlock the door to the tram dock from this side?"

**No. The door locks with a key, which you don't have. Ruby could easily climb back through the window if needed. She's pretty athletic.**

"Look through the windows on the upper doors."

**You peek in through the grated windows. The building to the west is a warehouse and appears to contain food. Nothing fresh, just lots of long-life and canned stuff.**

"Ruby hungers! Smash down the door!"

**The door is too sturdy. The other warehouse contains boxes of medical supplies, stationery and probably other stuff. Not all the labels are visible from where you're standing.**

"What's on the other side of the chain link fence?"

**Trees on a steep slope. There's a dirt path that runs parallel to the fence for a little while before vanishing between the trees.**

"Where does the fence end. Can we get around it?"

**No. The fence is blocking off this entire section of coastline and ends in unscalable cliffs.**

"Then let's go to the beach."

**You head east...**

**The path behind the buildings goes down a steep slope and ends in a pebble beach at the foot of the cliffs.**

"Food!"  
"No, it's a trap! Ace might be in that box."  
"If you genuinely think Ace would disguise himself as a crate of canned banana pudding just to catch Ruby, then you've been playing a different quest to me.  
"Okay, so I know we established in the last game that under his mask Ace has been turned into an eldritch horror made of maggots, but damn if I won't be picturing him as Wile E. Coyote from now on."  
"Can we stop talking about maggots? You're putting me off all the amazing banana pudding I'm about to eat."

**The crate is very well constructed. You're going to need either a crowbar to pry it open or something seriously powerful that can smash it open.**

"Should've brought the chair."

**Even with Tom's impressive chair throwing abilities that would be insufficient.**

"Should've NOT THROWN ALL OUR AWESOME INVENTORY INTO THE OCEAN."

**Ruby and Tom are starting to agree with this assessment. They blame the champagne.**

"Maybe there'll be a crowbar at the dock?"

**You head back up the path and make your way to the dock...**

"Read the sign."

**It's a ferry schedule for the island. According to the calendar in the office, there won't be a ferry to the mainland for another three months.**

"Is there anything of interest in the water?"

**You walk to the very end of the dock and stare down into the water. You can hear a faint voice singing inside of your head.**

**It is not a nice song.**

"omfg voice of cjopaze"  
"PISS INTO THE WATER!"

**Ruby doesn't want to get that close. Tom is considering it, when Jay asks if you can all move away from the water.**

"Accommodate Jay's ptsd."

**You move as far away from the water as you can.**

"Okay, so our immediate problems are getting off the island (which is apparently not happening for a while), finding food (probably by breaking open the crate or finding a key to the food warehouse) and finding a battery for the camera (which probably means either breaking into the supplies warehouse or going back to the Metal Glen.)"  
"I vote for NOT going back to the facility full of abominations."  
"+1 for not dealing with Ace on an empty stomach. Or ever."  
"I say we try to get at the rest of the island. Could anybody climb the fence?"

**The fence is very tall and topped with barbed wire. You would have to be very slim and athletic to successfully climb over it. Ruby might be able to do it.**

"Weaver, you bag of dicks. WE HAD WIRE-CUTTERS IN OUR INVENTORY!"  
"Wait, what's our current inventory?"

**In your inventory you have an empty champagne bottle, two walkie-talkies, a stack of post-its, books and a digital camera.**

"Okay, have Ruby take one of the walkie talkies so she can communicate with the others and the champagne bottle, since it's the closest thing we currently have to a weapon."

**Ruby leaves the other items with Tom and Jay, then climbs the fence. Tom watches anxiously from below.**

"I just bet he does. Is she wearing panties?"

**Ruby makes it over and looks around anxiously.**

"Kiss Tom for courage."

**Ruby kisses Tom through the fence. It makes her feel a little better. She promises to keep her radio turned on and starts to make her way through the steep path between the trees until she comes out into a clearing...**

**You are in an old graveyard. Large fragments of broken stone lie all around where headstones and monuments have crumbled and collapsed.**

"Look at fallen cross."

**A large stone cross has fallen across a headstone to form a precarious seesaw. The cross bears the name Makepeace Elyot. There is a small key lying in the ground at the base.**

"Pick up key."  
"Elyot? Wait. Radio Tom and ask him to look at the _Unexplained Disappearances_ book again. again."

**Tom finds the Elyot Island chapter in _Unexplained Disappearances_. He says it was an island in the Atlantic, off the coast of Massachusetts. It was settled in the 1600s before the colonists were wiped out in mysterious circumstances.**

"What circumstances?"

**Nobody's sure. The settlers at Dunwich and Arkham claimed the colony's failure was a punishment from God, since the islanders had become schismatic upon their arrival in the new world and held an increasing number of beliefs considered heretical by the puritans of the mainland settlements. A contemporary document from Arkham about the Elyot Islanders said "They worship strange gods" and accused the islanders of demonic possession and human sacrifice.**

"So what actually happened?"

**The most accepted theory is that they were massacred by the Misquatawnee tribe who'd originally lived on the island, either in an attempt to get the land back or for religious reasons. The Misquatawnee had a legend regarding a coming "day of darkness" and the death of the islanders coincided pretty closely with a solar eclipse.**

"Did they get their island back?"

**No. Elyot's heirs eventually claimed the island and it's been in private hands ever since. The owners are extremely secretive and no historian has ever been given permission to visit the island and look into the legend. The current owner, Reynard Redmont, has leased part of the island to a pharmaceutical company, but the parts of historical interest are still strictly off-limits.**

"REDmont?"  
"Doesn't Reynard mean Fox?"  
"Fuck. Okay keep investigating the graveyard."

**The inscriptions on the headstones seem to bear out the theory that this is Elyot Island. The inscriptions on the earliest headstones bear quotes from scripture, the later ones have more unusual inscriptions.**

"Like what?"

**Dark will fall and blood will spill and he will wake.**

"Cheerful. What else can you see?"

**From up here you're at the highest point on the island. You can see as far as the crate of banana pudding on the beach.**

"Throw things at the crate of pudding."

**You can't throw that far.**

"Use the gravestone seesaw."

**Ruby carefully adjusts the angle of the fallen cross, adds one of the chunks of broken stone to it and then jumps on the other end. The rock goes flying through the air and smashes into the crate on the beach.**

"Fuck yeah!"  
"Head to the beach for our delicious reward!"

**Ruby uses the radio to let Tom know what's happened. When you arrive at the fence, he and Jay are waiting for you with cans of pudding. It is delicious.**

"Give the key to Tom."

**Tom takes the key. He thinks it might open the desk drawer in the tram dock office. He wants to know if you're going to climb back over to their side of the fence.**

"Nah. Keep exploring."

**You tell Tom that you can accomplish more if you're working on this side of the fence while he follows up on the key. He agrees and hands you two more cans of banana pudding in case you get hungry climbing back up the hill.**

"Kiss him goodbye."

**You kiss Tom through the fence. He tastes of bananas. You wave goodbye and make your way back up the hill...**

**When you reach the cemetery, you use your vantage point to look at the other side of the island. To the northwest there are patches of land with fewer trees. The earth there has been disturbed. You think this might be the remains of the Elyot settlement.**

"Why is there an archaeologist on the island when only staff from The Metal Glen had Red's permission to be there?"  
"Use third eye on the remains of the settlement."

**Ruby looks at the settlement with her mutant third eye. In the centre of the ruins you can see a figure that wasn't there before. A scarecrow or perhaps a crucifixion. It reminds you of something, but you're not sure what. You've seen so many horrible things since you woke up.**

"It's The Dummy."  
"Dummy."  
"Totally the Dummy."

**You look closer into the valley. The figure on the cross appears to be a young girl. She wears a black dress and a white headscarf. Her arms are missing and she is screaming. Men stand in the clearing. One of them is holding a sickle and staring at the sky. Even though you're far away and out of earshot, you hear him speak.**

"Dark will fall and blood will spill and he will come."

**Neither he nor any of the men have noticed the figures emerging from the woodland. By the time they look up from their ritual, the axes are already at their throats. You watch the Misquatawnee burst out on the men and kill them all. They turn their attention to the girl on the cross.**

"Indians to the rescue!"  
"Dude, Native Americans!"

**They cut her throat.**

"Dramatic rescue fail. You guys get an F in saving the day."

**Ruby is grabbed from behind by strong arms. As you spin around you see the Misquatawnee canoes moored along the coast. The man holding you smiles sadly and says "Blood spilled in the day will not wake him." He looks apologetic, repeating your name as he snaps your neck. "Ruby, Ruby, Ruby..."**

"Great now I have a Kaiser Chiefs earworm."  
"Wait. Did we just die?"  
"Nah. It'll be like the thing with the industrial fans. Close your third eye and switch back to regular vision."

**When you regain awareness of your surroundings you are alone in the cemetery and Tom is calling "Ruby! Ruby! Ruby!" over the radio.**

"Told you."  
"Answer the poor guy, he must be going out of his mind."

**You talk to Tom explaining what you've just seen with your third eye. Tom is worried. He knows that using it often hurts you. He'd hoped that being out of the facility would eventually make your mutation disappear.**

"Why? Have Tom's extra arms vanished? Or Jay's shadow projection things?"

**Tom's arms are still all present and correct. Jay isn't sure about the shadows. He can't do it on command, it happens automatically when he's afraid.**

"Ask if they found anything."

**Tom says the key from the grave fitted the desk drawer in the tram dock office. They found a camera battery and a charger inside. They're waiting for it to power up. There was also a staff ID card for The Metal Glen in the name of a porter called Benedict Lathers. The picture matches the one in the graduation picture.**

"Ah, so our archaeologist took a blue collar job to get access to the island. Sneaky."  
"What's the point of that? He wouldn't be able to publish his findings."  
"Where's your sense of discovery ? He did it FOR SCIENCE."  
"He's a historian. The closest you're getting to FOR SCIENCE is FOR SOCIAL SCIENCE!"  
"Fuck you. Archaeology is a real science."  
[THREE DAY FLAME WAR REDACTED]  
"Your MOM was fucking Godwinned. Can we get back to the goddamn game, please? Ask Tom if he found the key to the food warehouse."

**Tom says there's been no sign of the keys, but there's still a lot of banana pudding left.**

"Is the battery charged yet?"

**He says he's just loading it into the camera now.**

"Look around while we wait."

**To the northwest you can see a large house with some outbuildings. You're still squinting at them when Tom announces that he's got the camera working and that there's a video file on it.**

"Tell him to play the file. Roll tape!"

**An unfamiliar voice starts to speak over the radio. "So you really have to... Okay, there's... It's easy, really. You just need to... you go to the boathouse, you get the boat and you row... you row to the mainland. You're in good shape. more than a year digging, hauling boxes, it's... you can do that. You can get help. Then they'll evacuate the island. And if there's nobody here at Halloween, then nobody... nothing can happen. They... The Misquatawnee figured it out. Migration patterns. An inhabited island, but not when... not when he might wake. Can't let him wake. So... there are notes. I've left you... me... Ben... notes, because... Because it doesn't want us to leave. You're going to hear singing... Voices telling you to wreck the boat, jump off the cliffs... There are instructions in your pocket and I... I'm leaving you this video so it... he can't make you forget again. You have to get everybody off the island, okay? You have to get to the boat and tell people what you've learned. You're responsible for... I mean... I should. Hmm. I should put this camera in a safe place." The voice stops abruptly.**

"Ask Tom if there is anything else on the camera."

**He says just some pictures of broken pottery and stuff. He wants to know if you can see a building that might be a boathouse, because if you could row a boat to the beach on the south of the island he and Jay could finish exploring with you.**

"Tell him about the outbuildings you saw."

**Tom thinks that sounds like a good lead. He asks you to be careful. He sounds pretty frustrated that he can't be there with you.**

"Promise him that we'll be careful, then head down to the buildings."

**You walk down the hill.**

**The path leads to a boathouse.**

"Can we grab an oar? We're still woefully under-equipped in the weapons department. 

****The oars above the door are too high for you to reach.** **

"What's that on the floor?" 

****You pick up a note. The handwriting is terrible, but you think it says 'Do not forget why you're here. Do not sink the boat. Do not remain on the island. Do not go crazy. Do not lose this note.'** **

"And yet I can't help noticing that he apparently... lost the note."  
"Fucking grad students man. They're all useless."  
[LONG ARGUMENT REDACTED]  
"Just go in the fucking boathouse." 

**You step inside...**

"Shit."  
"I guess Mr Absent Minded Professor shouldn't have lost his note."  
"Or camera."  
"Or marbles."  
"What's in the box?"

**It's a toolbox. There's a pair of wirecutters inside.**

"Yay! Add them to our inventory then Radio Tom with the good news."

**You let Tom know that you've found some wire-cutters. He sounds pleased, but distracted.**

"Is that a key on the floor?"

**Yes. It looks like it's fallen out of Blathers' pocket.**

"What else has it got in its pocketses precious?"

**You go through his pockets thoroughly. You find two other keys.**

"Wait. Is he definitely dead?"

**Ruby unties Blathers and checks for signs of life, feeling somewhat guilty that she didn't do this immediately upon entering. Fortunately it looks like he's been dead for a while and her slowness didn't affect anything.**

"Check out the water. Any sign of the boat?"

**There's a fragment of the prow on the bottom, but it looks like the boat has been pretty comprehensively destroyed.**

"Can we take the noose with us?"

**Rope has been added to your inventory.**

"Combine the rope with the paint can in case burglars arrive while we're home alone."

**Colorful Flail has been added to your inventory.**

"Okay. Time to explore the big house!"  
"We will stop at nothing until we find Red's porn collection!"

**Tom radios for help.**

"What's wrong?"

**Tom says he's gone back into the tram dock with Jay and the tram isn't there any more. It's been called back to The Metal Glen. Somebody is coming.**

"Tell Tom and Jay to hide. You're coming back with the wire cutters!"  
"How long will it take for the tram to complete the journey?"

**Maybe ten minutes each way. You're going to have to run if you want to reach Tom before Ace does.**

"That fucker better stay away from our boyfriend."  
"Run, Ruby! Run!"

**You run over the hill faster than you ever thought possible and immediately start cutting a hole in the fence. Tom and Jay come running out of the office. Tom tells you that the tram hasn't come back yet, but that he couldn't find a way to stop it from inside the office.**

"Ooh! The see-saw. We can smash the tracks!"  
"To the graveyard!"

**By now you are exhausted, but you run ahead to show Tom and Jay the way to the cemetery.**

**You collapse at the top of the hill to get your breath back, while Tom and Jay try to angle the see-saw so that it will hit the tram tracks. After testing the aim with a small rock, Tom carries two huge gravestones over and places one into the firing position and drops the other one as a counterweight. The good news is that it smashes the track to pieces, cutting off The Metal Glen.**

"What's the bad news?"

**The counterweight has smashed Tom's foot. There's no way he's walking back down that hill without a splint or crutch or something.**

"Kiss it better for him!"

**Ruby kisses it for him, but thinks she should probably use her new keys to fetch some medical supplies from the storage warehouse as well.**

"To the warehouse!"

**Ruby trudges slowly down the hill, only to see that something is different about the courtyard.**

"Is that blood?"

**There is a trail of fresh bloodstains going from the tramdock to the woods. It looks like somebody was dragged while badly injured.**

"Shit. He'd already made it to the tram dock. Now we're trapped here with him?"  
"Use the radio. Warn Tom and Jay."

**Tom says that from the top of the hill he can see Ace. He's heading towards the old village, dragging somebody behind him, but Tom can't tell if it's Stitches or somebody else.**

"Fetch Tom his medical supplies and stay the fuck away from Ace."  
"No, wait. How long to we have until the eclipse? Because from Blather's notes it sounds like if you kill a sacrificial victim on the island during the eclipse then 'He Will Wake'. I'm still not entirely sure who He is, but I'm getting the definite impression that we should let him sleep in."  
"Follow the trail of blood."

**You head off in the same direction Ace went. From the top of the hill, Tom sees this and starts to yell at you over the radio.**

Mute him. We're too busy saving the world right now to deal with his protectiveness.

**Unable to reach you by radio, Tom sends Jay down the hill after you to try and reason with you. Jay has just caught up with you when you arrive at the clearing.**

**Filbert has evidently been resurrected since you left The Metal Glen. He no longer has his mutations, but his arms are missing. He is screaming and yelling at Ace to let him go. Ace is looking at the sky, where the moon is just beginning to get close to the sun.**

"Fuck. Um... Save Filbert? I mean, the guy's a complete shitheel, but all evidence points towards the world ending if Ace manages to murder him during the eclipse, so..."  
"Could we sneak up and untie him while Ace is distracted?"

**Ruby and Jay start to move stealthily through the trees. You are trying to recreate the actions of the Misquatawnee tribesmen you saw in your vision, but you've had way less practice hunting than they had. Filbert notices you.**

"Gesture so he knows that we're coming to rescue him."

**Ruby indicates that she's trying to come over and untie him, but Filbert starts screaming. "She's here! It's her! Take Ruby, not me! She's evil! CUT THE BAD OUT OF HER!"**

"Shit. Heel."

**Ace turns around and looks directly at Ruby and Jay. Suddenly the clearing is plunged into total darkness. There is a nasty burbling noise from Filbert.**

"Wait. Did he just kill Filbert during the eclipse? I think we just lost."  
"Use third eye."

**Ruby opens her third eye and looks around. The sun is still shining brightly. Ace is hacking at the now-dead Filbert with his scythe, but clumsily, like he can't see what he's doing. Looking around for Jay, you see two of him.**

"It's not the eclipse. It's one of Jay's shadow projections. We're saved!"  
"Oh you mean the projections he can't control? The one that's going to stutter out any second now, leaving us in the clearing with a scythe-wielding maniac in need of a fresh victim for the eclipse that's due in the next few minutes?"  
"You are such a fucking downer. I swear to God."

**The light suddenly comes back. There is now only one Jay and Ace is within grabbing distance of him.**

"Distract him ffs!"  
"Distract him with a sexy dance."  
"Throw the champagne bottle at his head!"

**Ruby throws the champagne bottle at Ace... sexily. His face beneath the mask distorts upon impact, reminding Ruby of what really lies beneath there.**

"What else are we carrying?"

**In your inventory you have a walkie talkie, a pair of wire cutters, the colorful flail, two cans of banana pudding, three keys and a stack of post-its.**

Use the colorful flail on Ace."

**You swing the rope around your head then let the paintcan fly. It smacks him in the head covering him in red paint, but doesn't halt his progress.**

"Throw the wire cutters at him."

**Ruby launches the wire cutters at Ace. They lodge in his leg, but he keeps moving.**

"Throw the pudding."

**The cans bounce off him uselessly.**

"Might as well throw the post-its too."

**Ace sustains papercuts and loses the last of his hitpoints.**

"Really?"

**No. He chases after you brandishing the scythe as you leave the clearing fleeing for your life.**

"FML"  
"Turn the radio back on. Have Tom direct us to a place of safety."

**Tom shouts instructions as you run through the forest.**

**He directs you to the beach. You are now trapped.**

"Pelt Ace with banana pudding."

**You hide behind the crate and throw cans of pudding at him. There's no way you're going to be able to fend him off like this for the length of the eclipse.**

"How long do we have until it starts?"

**Thirty seconds.**

"Have Tom use the see-saw!"

**You use the radio to request aerial assistance. Moments later, a huge tombstone comes flying through the air and lands on Ace, crushing him.**

"Yeah!"  
"Woo!"  
"Rest in peace, bitch!"

**Then the sun goes out.**

"Use third eye."

**You still can't see anything. The only small consolation is that Ace doesn't appear to be moving. You sit in the darkness on the beach and wonder if the world will end after all, when a sound comes through your radio. Tom is singing to you.[A beautiful song about how he will stick with you no matter what](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ). You start to sing with him.**

**When the sun comes back Ace is gone. So is the feeling of dread that's been with you ever since you woke up. And when you try to use your third eye, it doesn't hurt at all...**

A COUPLE OF MONTHS LATER... 

Tom is cutting down one of the spruce trees growing on the southeast face of the island and trimming the branches at the same time. The ability to multitask is one of the benefits of having four arms.

Their mutations never did fade away, although Jay learned to control his better. He is currently projecting some temporary darkness in the big house on the north beach to test that a set of Christmas lights are working properly.

Ruby is also in the house, reading a recipe book that she found in there. The recipes are in French, but that's not presenting Ruby with any problems. These days her third eye provides a pain-free way to see the truth of something, including documents written in a foreign language. She's pretty sure that if needs be she can support the other two by working as a translator when the ferry finally comes and they rejoin civilisation.

They still haven't decided what to do about the ferry. It's not that they're afraid of what people will say anymore. (After everything they've been through there's nothing that frightens them now.) It's more that Ruby doesn't see the point. She understands on an intellectual level that she had a life once, out there in the world. That there might be friends and family waiting for the three prodigal mutants to return, but on a deeper, more fundamental, third-eye sort of level, she knows that the only family she needs is right here with her.

Feliz Navidad, Miyuke.


End file.
